1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for inserting filled bag-like containers, more particularly filled flat bags, into despatch or display boxes, cartons or the like.
2. Discussion of the Relevant Art
It is known to feed containers to a conveying device having open compartments for receiving the containers and for conveying the containers to an ejector station at which a pre-selected number of containers are ejected into an opened carton by means of an ejector device.
Disposable packages are not only being used increasingly in the foodstuffs industry but also in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry. Bag-like containers in particular are very popular and are increasingly used as consumer-oriented small packs for sweets, potato powder, potato chips, cream, milk, fruit juice and the like.
Mechanized packaging into despatch cartons or display cartons of these relatively form-stable containers, which are therefore difficult to handle by machines, represents a problem. More particularly, in the method of the kind described hereinbefore it is very difficult for the containers, which are ejected from the compartments of the conveying device and are loosely arranged adjacently to each other by means of their flat sides, to be loaded into the cartons by means of the usually comb-shaped ejector device because owing to their inadequate self-support and intrinsic instability such containers have a tendency to laterally escape from the pressure of the ejecting device. Accordingly, the bag-like containers can readily be bunched in the carton opening and can also be damaged.
Furthermore, the space of the carton which is to be filled is only incompletely utilized because prior to insertion into the carton the bag-like containers are placed one against the other only loosely, i.e. with clearance between their flat sides and/or in irregular distribution of the material in the individual containers.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a method which avoids the previously-mentioned disadvantages and more particularly permits the bag-like containers to be reliably inserted into a bag carton, or the like. Its another object of the invention to provide a method which permits gaining time so as to obtain a more rapid operating cycle.